meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Ask Pastor John

Can a Husband Lust After His Wife?

Ask Pastor John

Desiring God

John Piper, Unknown, 163859, Pastor, Ask, Theology, Desiring God, Religion & Spirituality/christianity, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, Questions

4.83.8K Ratings

🗓️ 14 February 2014

⏱️ 7 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What is right in the marriage bed is right in the mind, but husbands should strive to serve their wives, not use them, in both.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Michael writes in to ask of this, Pastor John is a possible for a husband to lust after

0:09.3

his own wife.

0:10.8

So is that a sin even possible within the marriage relationship?

0:14.4

Well, I wish I had Michael here just asking more precisely what he has in mind by lusting

0:19.9

after his wife.

0:22.1

So let me go at it from a Bible text and then circle around maybe and guess at what

0:28.5

Michael might have in his mind and do the best to answer his question.

0:32.2

Here's a relevant text and it may be a little confusing because the translations differ

0:37.1

here and I'm going to opt for a more unusual one.

0:40.1

I'm thinking of first Thessalonians 4, 3 through 5.

0:45.0

Here's my translation.

0:46.0

I'll give both ESV and mine or NIV, they're all saying pretty much.

0:51.3

For this is the will of God, your sanctification that you abstain from sexual immorality, that

0:58.1

each one of you, now here comes the controversial part.

1:01.0

That each one of you know how to ESV control his own body in holiness and honor.

1:08.5

Now the issue is the word behind body is vessel, that's the literal translation, vessel.

1:14.8

So it's either possess, obtain or control his own vessel.

1:21.5

So there are two possibilities, one, he's talking about his wife, his own vessel and that's

1:29.3

the one I'm opting for because in first Peter 3, 7 it says, live together with your wife

1:35.0

and honor her as the weaker vessel, that's the word that's used here or it could be your

1:40.5

own self, your own sexual organ, the vessel.

1:44.6

So which is it?

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Desiring God, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Desiring God and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.